The musty air and weak, flickering orange light followed and clung onto him as he rushed into a blur of dark colour.

He could feel that the person was following him.

Briskly walking.

Smiling.

Laughing.

Weapon in hand.

He let out a yell as he tripped and his limbs scraped across the ground.

The orange light was flickering with every footstep.

The person took one step forward.

"D-don't… GET AWAY FROM ME!"

And yet another step.

"NO…!"

The person kneeled down.

"N-…!"

He was silenced as a hand was clasped over his mouth.

His eyes widened as he desperately tried to get up and run. But he was paralysed with fear and his mind was blank. He had no energy to move. It was as if death had already claimed him. He felt a strong latch on his arm.

Wait…

Was that…

A red moon he saw?

A moon died with blood.

A piercing scream left his throat as the edge drove deep and menacingly and pierced his throbbing chest.

Then the light went off.

He let out a sigh.

Leaning back in his office work chair, Arthur Kirkland was fanning himself with a folded copy of the latest issue of a men's fashion magazine. Scattered all over his desk were documents and random pieces of paper he couldn't be bothered with. Oh, and not to mention his usual cup of coffee which had gone cold.

Speaking of cold, weather of late had been spiking. The summer heat seemed to have risen way above the average of the past few years and everyone was drinking cold soda instead of coffee, despite the lack of… elegance? Not to mention that magazines and newspapers were not for reading anymore, but were makeshift fans.

Arthur pretended to be engrossed in going through his paperwork as he fanned himself madly. The fans in the cramped office were not of any help. But the company was too broke to have air-conditioners installed. Or either that it'll be a waste of money. After all, using it for only three out of 12 months in the year would be quite a waste…

Arthur's mind was still drifting in the subject of air-conditioners when a stack of papers were pushed in front of him. Arthur looked up.

"Can I help you, Toris?"

"Sorry to bother you, Mr Kirkland," Arthur's colleague apologised rather meekly. Toris' chin-length brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and he was wearing a sweatervest over a short-sleeved dress shirt instead of his usual suit. The heat must have been getting to him. "But the boss asked you to take on the Syndevale murder chain case."

Arthur would have tried to kill himself with paper cuts out of desperation if he had not been careful.

The Syndevale Chain Murder Case.

The case had been dragging on for almost four years now.

Syndevale was a small town of currently less than 30 residents. People used to stay at the quiet place for vacation but none of them left the town alive. Even those who did died shortly after leaving. One by one every innocent soul who set foot in the supposedly quiet and peaceful town soon died. And just two weeks ago, his colleague who was sent to investigate the case was murdered after being posted for 12 days.

Everyone who went there was murdered.

Their bodies were not found. No suspicious murder weapon came in sight. The residents were deemed innocent.

The town looked the same.

Every worker in Arthur's line of business dreaded being posted there. But somehow, Arthur had been expecting this. At 23, he was one of the youngest and most talented detectives in line with the police.

Arthur closed his forest-green eyes for a while, deep in thought. After a few moments, he tousled his dark blonde hair, let out a deep sigh and sat up straight. He placed down his pen in a uniform manner.

"So when am I leaving?"

A/N: Sorry for not posting in a long time! Life. ^^ So here's a new story which I thought through carefully before posting. What's this nostalgic feeling...? Maybe it's Geist Mein Schreien all over again. XD Concerning this, I am quite set on finishing this, reviews or not. Constructive reviews are strongly encouraged though.

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.